Five-minute elf ideas for grown-ups, and a door full of jokes, games and mischief for the kids every morning. Works with any elf you already own, or none at all.
Get the free arrival letterComing late November
Elves arrive 1 December. Elf O'Clock will be ready before they are.
Print it at home. There's a space for your child's name and a box where they name the elf. No sign-up, no email, just the file.
It's the first night of the app's December, and it works whether or not you ever buy the app.
Download the letter
One app, two sides, with a parent gate between them.
Tell Elf O'Clock what's in your cupboards and it plans the month around that. Every evening you get a card: the idea, what you need, the steps, how long it takes, a tip for the photo. Swap it, reorder it, add your own. Nothing to buy.
Behind each date-locked door there's always a joke from the elves, and most days something more: a prank the elves play through the phone, a mini-game, a mission, a riddle, a page to colour. Two age bands, 3 to 5 and 6 plus, so everyone gets a go.
Heads, faces, hats, outfits, any colour they like. It bobs, blinks and talks. New outfits and stickers drop all month. If you link tonight's setup, the elf tells them about it in the morning.
26 Christmas games, a den to decorate, Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, letters to Santa, colouring and stickers.
And on the nights you can't face it?Tap The elf is tired. The kids still get their door.
Pick from tried and tested setups rated for effort, swap any night, and the morning message matches what you did.
No planning, no real elf needed. The elves in the app do the mischief and the kids open a door every morning.
Paper hat, Hot pudding, Freeze elves!, Kids rule and more. Prop the phone up, everyone plays, every age in the same round.
Snap a few photos as you set the elf up, moving it a little each time. Elf Cam turns them into a grainy stop-motion tape, and in the morning the kids watch what the camera caught before their door opens.
Videos are made on your phone and only leave it when you share them.
No. Elf O'Clock works with any Christmas elf: a shop one, a knitted one, a hand-me-down. Every setup is written for "your elf", and the kids build their own on screen anyway.
No. Pick "Just the doors" in setup and the elves in the app do the mischief for you.
They stay on your phone. Elf O'Clock has no accounts, no analytics and no ads, and nothing is sent anywhere unless you choose to share it. Your child's name is stored on the device only, and deleting the app deletes everything. Elf Cam videos are made on your phone and only leave it when you share them. The full privacy policy is one page: read it here.
No subscription. Everything in this season is included. No ads, no accounts.
Written for two bands: 3 to 5 and 6 plus. Jokes, riddles and missions come in both versions, so a four-year-old and an eight-year-old both get something that lands behind their door.
Yes. Add up to six. Each child gets their own calendar and their own look for your elf.
No. Linking the night's setup to the morning message is optional, night by night. Tap "The elf is tired" and the elves have their own adventure on screen instead. The kids still get their door.
No. The printables are extras. Every planned setup uses things most homes already have, and the app tells you what to use instead if you don't.
Gently. Doors creak open, the elf pops out with a little bell, and a win gets a tiny fanfare. Every sound is made by us and kept soft, one switch in Settings turns them all off, and the grown-ups' side stays quiet.
